FAIRBANKS -- The operator of the NOAA satellite facility north of Fairbanks is changing. That will require 54 employees at the site to reapply for their jobs.

A subsidiary of the Arctic Slope Regional Corp. won the contract for the Fairbanks Satellite Operations Facility. The winning bid could be worth as much as $34.3 million over four years.

A subsidiary of the Aleut Corp. has operated the facility for eight years.

Workers in charge of operations and maintenance, along with facility security, are being given layoff notices. It will be up to the ASRC companies to determine whether they're rehired.

More than $1 billion worth of satellite and electronics equipment is located at the facility.

According to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, the Fairbanks Satellite Operations Facility captures data from satellites that travel a circumpolar route through space. A variety of federal agencies use that data, including the National Weather Service, Coast Guard and Department of Defense.